Accra session of Liberian talks end

Accra, Aug. 21, GNA - The Liberian Peace Talks in Accra formally ended on Thursday, shortly after the naming of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia to take over from President Moses Blah's administration on October 14.

Chief Mediator General Abdusalami Abubakar named Mr Gyude Bryandt, a 54-year-old private businessman, as the one to head the caretaker government as provided under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed last Monday.

The Vice Chairman is Mr Wesley Johnson of the United People's Party. Representatives of the three warring parties - Government of Liberia (GOL), Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) - selected the two from a list of six candidates short-listed by the political parties and civil society organisations.

Closing the session, Gen Abubakar, who is a former Nigerian Head of State, asked the two men to do their best quickly to reconcile and reconstruct the nation, which has suffered so much from more than a decade of war.

"We all acknowledged that the task ahead is not an easy one. It calls for tolerance, patience, tact and calmness," he said, and advised them to be fair, just and transparent in their administration. "The first step of unifying the people starts from today and do not let your people down," he urged.

Equally, Gen Abubakar asked all Liberians to give their support to the interim administration when it assumes office in October.

"You have to play your part. Your country has bled for sometime now. It's time to heal the wounds and to reassure yourselves that never again should such a carnage be visited upon your nation," he told the delegates.

He reiterated that former President Charles Taylor's successor; Mr Moses Blah would leave office on October 14 as provided by the peace agreement.

Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, ECOWAS Executive Secretary, appealed to all parties to reconcile with each other.

"We need to put the past behind us. We need to tolerate each other, strive to understand each other better because we have no choice." He said ECOWAS would deploy more peacekeepers in Liberia as part of the process to address the security concerns of the people.

He confirmed earlier reports that the Ghanaian contingent of peacekeepers was leaving on Thursday. "As I'm speaking, the troops are just about to leave, to be followed by Malian troops very soon." Dr Chambas asked the people to make maximum use of an overwhelming international support available to them in reconstructing their shattered nation.

The talks, which spanned 78 days beginning June 4, culminated in a ceasefire deal among the GOL, LURD and MODEL on June 17 and later a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed by the three belligerents and the country's eighteen political parties.

The ECOWAS-led negotiating team included representatives of the African Union, United Nations, the European Union and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the United States as observers.